Music disk
Encyclopedia
Music disk, or musicdisk, is a term used by the demoscene
to describe a collection of songs made on a computer. They are essentially the computer equivalent of an album
. A music disk is typically packaged in the form of a program with a custom user interface
, so the listener does not need other software to play the songs. The "disk" part of the term comes from the fact that music disks were once made to fit on a single floppy disk
, so they could be easily distributed between friends and at demo parties
. On modern platforms
, music disks are usually downloaded to a hard disk drive.
Songs in a music disk are typically composed with a tracker, a type of program popular in the demoscene. Amiga
music disks usually consist of MOD
files, while PC
music disks often contain multichannel formats such as XM
or IT
. Music disks are also common on the Commodore 64
and Atari ST
, where they use their own native formats.
Related terms include music pack, which can refer to a demoscene music collection that does not include its own player, and chipdisk, a music disk containing only chiptune
s, which have become popular on the PC given the large size of MP3
music disks.
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
to describe a collection of songs made on a computer. They are essentially the computer equivalent of an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. A music disk is typically packaged in the form of a program with a custom user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
, so the listener does not need other software to play the songs. The "disk" part of the term comes from the fact that music disks were once made to fit on a single floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
, so they could be easily distributed between friends and at demo parties
Demoparty
A demoparty is an event that gathers demosceners and other computer enthusiasts to compete in competitions. A typical demoparty is a non-stop event lasting over a weekend, providing the visitors a lot of time to socialize. The competing works, at least those in the most important competitions, are...
. On modern platforms
Platform (computing)
A computing platform includes some sort of hardware architecture and a software framework , where the combination allows software, particularly application software, to run...
, music disks are usually downloaded to a hard disk drive.
Songs in a music disk are typically composed with a tracker, a type of program popular in the demoscene. Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
music disks usually consist of MOD
MOD (file format)
MOD is a computer file format used primarily to represent music, and was the first module file format. MOD files use the “.MOD” file extension, except on the Amiga where the original trackers instead use a “mod.” prefix scheme, e.g. “mod.echoing”...
files, while PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
music disks often contain multichannel formats such as XM
Fast Tracker
FastTracker 2 is a tracker created by Fredrik "Mr. H" Huss and Magnus "Vogue" Högdahl, two members of the demogroup Triton which set about releasing their own tracker after breaking into the scene in 1992 and winning several demo competitions. The source code of FastTracker 2 is written in Pascal...
or IT
Impulse Tracker
Impulse Tracker is a multi-track digital sound tracker . It was one of the last tracker programs for the DOS platform. It was authored by Jeffrey "Pulse" Lim, and example music was provided by Jeffrey Lim and Chris Jarvis...
. Music disks are also common on the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, where they use their own native formats.
Related terms include music pack, which can refer to a demoscene music collection that does not include its own player, and chipdisk, a music disk containing only chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
s, which have become popular on the PC given the large size of MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
music disks.
External links
- Musicdisks on Pouet.net
- http://chipdisk.ru Chip Music Online